When People Surprise You
Posted By Kathleen David on April 16, 2009
Going around the Internet and the news feeds is the story of Susan Boyle who sang a beautiful rendition of “I have a dream” from Le Miz. This rather plain woman who has been singing since she was twelve has the voice of an angel. One of the judges commented that they all were being very cynical about this woman’s ability when they saw her and talked to her but this was a wake-up call for everyone who hears her.
One of the most incredible martial arts I know personally looks like he was the model for the Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons. To look at him, you would never believe the grace and beauty within. But I have seen him spar and do demos and it is magical. He works with a group that works with underprivileged youth (we can still say underprivileged right? I didn’t miss a memo?) and I have gone to see him totally blow people’s expectations about him out of the water.
Yes, we tend to judge people on sight. That is just something that people have been doing since Ogg the big strong caveman was most surprise to find that little Nunk with the bad leg knew how to hunt better than he did. People surprise you with what they can do.
I am surprised and awed by what Caroline can do. A couple of years ago, I had to do everything for her. Now she is showing me how much she can do on her own and how much of her world she is figuring out by just living in it. The other day she wanted to build a robot unicorn. She drew what she wanted the unicorn to look like and then broke the drawing down into component parts and made a schematic diagram of how this unicorn was to be built and labeled all the parts. I was amazed at the detail. Today I am going to see what I can find so we can make this unicorn she wants to make.
I know I surprise people. Even people who have known me for a while. The other day I was talking to some of Ariel’s theater buddies and I mentioned that I had graduated from the Yale School of Drama with an MFA in Stage Management. Who I was changed in their eyes the instant they had that information.
The fact that I married Peter David has still not sunk in with some of my old acquaintances. They know intellectually that I did but still don’t really get that I did even though they have seen me walk around with my husband and daughter.
People are amazed to find out that I am a puppeteer. I didn’t think it was that unusual but apparently it is. I didn’t call myself an artist for years. I thought of myself as a craftsman but not as an artist and that changed when an artist I respected called me such and was surprised I didn’t see myself the way he did.
The old phrase “you can’t judge a book by its cover” is one that I think we have all heard many a time. But we still do judge the book or person or group by what we see on the outside. It is the next step to take the time to look on the inside and see the richness of all that is there.
So a question for the group, what about me surprised you?
I am grateful that I can still surprise people with things I can do.
That you’re almost a normal height.
I don’t know yet, I haven’t met you. You’re never at Comic Con. But I will say my David blog experience has gone from read Peter then read the other’s to what’s Kathleen doing and oh yeah, her husband writes those comic books I read….
Heh. I love it when the penny finally drops and the mechanism emits a faint creaking sound and people suddenly realise i’m that David Weber’s brother…
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One of my favourite bits of family history was when Dave called Baen Books to speak to Jim; this was about the time his first book (the collaboration with Steve White) came out and he and Baen were talking about another.
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So the voice on the phone at the Baen office says “Who should I say is calling?” and he says “David Weber”.
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The voice did not say “Oh, yes – David Weber, soon-to-be-bestselling Baen author” – it siad “Oh, yeah – Mike’s brother. Hang on,” leaving him staring in bewilderment at the phone.
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What Dave didn’t know was that just about half the people then working in the Baen office were current or former members of the amateur press alliance SFPA and old buddies of mine…
i can’t say that anything surprised me when i first had the chance to meet you. i hadn’t really pictured anything in my mine. i try not to picture people in my head before i meet them cuz i tend to get it really wrong;)
i will say that i sometimes freak people out. i was once doing a return of an video game of an Adult Swim anime. I was able to actually discuss the characters with the guy who was returning it and it freaked him out cuz i didn’t look like i would even know who Afro Samuri was.
I do love hearing stories about how folks can make others change their minds about stereotypes:)